


A Restless Night

by xXdreameaterXx



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Parents, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-23
Updated: 2017-07-23
Packaged: 2018-12-05 20:20:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11585469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xXdreameaterXx/pseuds/xXdreameaterXx
Summary: John promises his wife a quiet, peaceful night while he takes care of their daughter. Yet it turns into anything but for Clara. . .





	A Restless Night

**Author's Note:**

  * For [marshcaps](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=marshcaps).



> Marshcaps made [this](https://twitter.com/marshcaps/status/888948867588403200) adorable TwelveClara drawing for me and in return I wrote this fic for her :)

“Don't worry,” John reassured her with a broad smile as he handed her a cup of tea. “I've got everything under control.”  
Clara raised a suspicious eyebrow at him in return and only reluctantly took the cup out of his hands. She wasn't quite as convinced as her husband sounded. “You know, that's usually my line.”  
Clara sipped the tea carefully, noticing with delight that it was her favourite brand. John was always so considerate, but somehow she doubted that he really had everything under control.  
“Yes, my beloved control freak,” he smiled and leaned forward to leave a soft kiss on her forehead.  
She snorted. “Beloved? What century is this?”  
“Shut up,” John growled.   
Giggling, Clara took another sip before she placed the tea cup on the bedside table and sank into the soft, warm pillows. She was so tired that she was sure to fall asleep in a matter of minutes and John didn't exactly help fight her exhaustion as he lifted the duvet and covered her up to her chin.  
“I promise, you have nothing to worry about. Just sleep. You certainly need it.”  
Clara sighed. It was easy for him to tell her not to worry when every cell of her body was anxious. “Are you absolutely sure you can handle this?” she wanted to know.  
John snorted. “It's a baby, not a baby dinosaur. She can't walk, talk or blow up the house. What could possibly happen?”  
And with that last sentence the little confidence Clara had had in John as a father vanished. She could think of a lot of things that could happen, she could think of a lot of things that had already happened or had been about to happen had she not put a stop to it.  
“You could drop her,” Clara threw in. “She could swallow a part of her toy. She could-”  
John silenced her by placing his index finger across her lips. “I'm not gonna drop her and I won't let her put anything in her mouth that isn't meant to be in a baby's mouth. I've been a father for 6 months now. I can handle this,” he promised.  
Clara looked at him for a long moment, but seeing as she was utterly exhausted and really not in the state to look after their daughter Mairi tonight she sank a little deeper into the pillows. “Fine,” she uttered sleepily and closed her eyes. “Just don't let her blow up the house.”  
A kiss landed on her lips right before John chuckled. “I love you.”  
“Love you, too,” she mumbled and then slowly started to drift off.

* * *

The first time Clara woke up was her own damn fault. She really shouldn't have had that tea before bedtime, but while she was tottering towards the bathroom she suddenly became aware of voices coming from the nursery next door. John had promised to sleep next to their daughter so Clara could have a quiet night for once, but it didn't sound like he was asleep at all. And judging by the babbling, neither was Mairi.  
Quietly Clara opened the door just a crack and peered inside, finding her husband bent over the cot.  
“Why aren't you happy?” John asked their daughter and he sounded dead tired. “You've been fed, you've got a new nappy, your dummy would be in your mouth if you stopped spitting it out and your favourite toy is right next to you.”  
Clara couldn't help but chuckle and the sound made John turned around in an instant.  
“Hey, you're supposed to be in bed,” he complained. “Go back now!”  
“Relax,” she rolled her eyes at him while she walked up to the cot. “I was just on my way to the loo and then I saw you were struggling.”  
“I am not struggling,” John insisted. “I told you, I've got this under control.”  
“Mh-mh,” Clara uttered and pointed towards the restless child. “You put the nappy on the wrong way.”  
“Did not,” he protested.  
“Yes, you did, it's back to front.”  
Clara bent down over the cot and started to help her distressed daughter out by putting her nappy on the right way. She could only imagine how uncomfortable it must have been. “What did daddy do to you, huh? He keeps saying that he knows what he's doing, but honestly, he doesn't have a clue.”  
“Hey, I'm still right here,” John complained and when Clara looked at him he was pouting. She smiled in response and went up on her tiptoes to give him a kiss.  
“It's alright. Just because you don't know how to put on a nappy doesn't mean you're a bad father.”  
He growled. “Not reassuring.”  
“Otherwise you're doing great,” she said. “And now I'm off to bed. You two have fun.”

* * *

The second time Clara woke up it wasn't her fault and it wasn't because she needed to use the loo. However, it was quite difficult to stay asleep while Mairi was apparently screaming for her life next door. Tired and just a little bit frustrated Clara threw the duvet aside and went to see what exactly was wrong now and she doubted it would be as easy to fix as a nappy.  
When she stepped into the hall she already heard where the problem lay and suddenly she couldn't blame their daughter one bit.  
“Please,” Clara uttered in a pleading tone once she had stepped into the nursery, “you can read to her, you can rock her to sleep, you can use the music box, but please, for the love of God, do not sing to her.”  
John turned around, revealing the sobbing baby in his arm, and the singing stopped immediately. “She just wouldn't sleep. I didn't know what else to do,” he justified himself.  
With a heavy sigh Clara took the baby out of his arms and rocked her gently. “Don't worry, darling. Daddy didn't mean it,” she said in a hushed voice and the child instantly went quiet.  
Once she was sure that Mairi wouldn't start crying again she lowered her back into the cot and switched on the music box that instantly started to play a soothing melody. Then she turned back around to look at John.  
“She just wouldn't sleep,” he argued helplessly and by now Clara could clearly see that the lack of sleep was beginning to take a toll on him. He wasn't used to it and all of a sudden Clara felt bad for even agreeing to this. She was still on maternity leave and could nap any time during the day, but John needed to be fit during the day to tend to his patients.  
“And your solution was to give her nightmares?” she granted him a weak smile. “Come on, let's switch on the baby monitor so we can both go to bed.”  
“No,” John replied instantly. “I promised you a good night's sleep and you'll have that.”  
“That's already ruined, John,” she argued and reached out to take his hand, tucking at it. “Please, come to bed. I'll sleep better with you next to me anyway.”  
For a moment her husband looked sorely tempted, but then his features hardened. “No, I'll keep my promise.”  
Clara rolled her eyes. He could be so stubborn at times, but that was part of the reason why she loved him. “Try to get some sleep, okay? And no more singing.”  
John nodded and after a kiss he sent her back to bed.

* * *

The third time Clara woke up it seemed to be for no reason whatsoever and she reached out to John's side of the bed, determined to snuggle up to him before falling back asleep, but she found nothing but an empty pillow. Then it began to dawn on her again that he was supposed to watch over their daughter tonight. Clara turned on her side and tried to fall asleep for a few more minutes, but when she realized that it just wouldn't happen she jumped out of bed and stomped off into the direction of the nursery.  
The room was quiet except for the low sound of the music box and under the dim night light Clara spotted their daughter sleeping peacefully in her cot. Her husband, however, lay in the armchair in an impossible angle. She shook her head when she imagined the backache he would suffer from the following morning and made a decision.   
Carefully Clara switched on the baby monitor before she reached out and ran her hand through John's soft, curly hair. He woke with a start and obviously needed a moment to realize where he was and what was going on and then he looked utterly crestfallen.  
“Did she wake you up again? I'm sorry, I didn't hear,” he uttered instantly.  
“Shush,” she hushed him softly and smiled. “Mairi's asleep. Come to bed.”  
“But I promised-”  
“Please,” Clara begged him quietly. “I can't sleep without you.”  
His features softened instantly and when she offered him her hand he finally let Clara pull him up into a standing position before they both made their way back into the bedroom next door.

John lay down on his back and Clara nestled her head against his chest before he closed his arms tightly around her body. Now she could finally get some proper rest.  
“There,” she said, “that's much better.”  
“I'm sorry,” John mumbled. “I promise we'll try again next weekend.”  
“It's okay,” Clara reassured him. “But we do have to practice how to properly put on a nappy again.”  
John chuckled in response. “Yeah, I'm afraid we do.”  
She nuzzled her cheek against the fabric of his pyjamas and sighed happily. This was perfect. Her husband was perfect and their daughter was perfect as well, at least as long as she didn't scream her lungs out. “I love you,” she whispered.  
“Love you, too,” John uttered before he dozed off and Clara closed her eyes as well, hoping they would both get a few hours of sleep before the screaming started again. Having a baby was a lot more stressful than she had anticipated, but still she wouldn't trade her life for anything in the world.


End file.
